Summer Glory
by AliaBobbwa
Summary: What the hell! How did this happen? One minute I'm arguing with Akane about swimming, then the next thing I know... well... we weren't arguing, that's for damn sure. Not that I'm complaining. Hell, all I can say is... it's about damn time.


Disclaimer:: wish they were, but they're not.   
  
Summer Glory  
  
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"No. Absolutely not." I growl out as I continue doing push ups on the back porch of the summer hotel. I glance to my side to see Akane's pout. Yeah... it's fucking adorable when she does it, but I'm still not caving.  
  
"Please. Pretty, pretty please?" She begs, her voice hitching up a few octaves to make her sound so utterly female it turns my insides to mush. My only answer this time is to shake my head and continue my work out. She sighs, and leans back against the wooden beam supporting the awning, crossing her legs Indian style. "Why not, Ranma?" She asks me simply. I snort as I look over to her.   
  
"Are you kidding me? Need I count the reasons why? Cuz if I have to we'll be here all damn day." Stubborn. That's what she is.   
  
"Hmm.. fine. I'll just have teach myself then." She sits there a moment longer, expecting me to stop her. I know she's bluffing. I can tell she's pullin' me along by the way she bites the corner of her lip. Another incredibly adorable trait she has.   
  
"Fine. Go ahead." I say simply. In the background I can hear the commotion down on the beach. The crashing waves, laughing people. Screaming children playing Frisbee or volleyball on the sand. Music blasting from jukeboxes and sea gulls screeching happily in the sky, staking out stray pieces of bread from tourists. The smells from vendors and picnickers are floating in the air. The sun scorching bodies and heating the sand to an unbearable degree. Ahh.. .it's summer at the beach. I turn my head to Akane once again and grin, "I think Kasumi brought a couple of those floaty thingys that go on your arms..." I trail off and chuckle as I see the beginnings of a frown touch her lips.   
  
"Come on. Teaching me to swim can't possibly be that unbearable a thing to do." She turns her head and shades her eyes as she looks out towards the water. I stop in the middle of a push up and take the opportunity to look my fiance over. Damn. She looks good. Very good. She's got these little khaki shorts on with a white tank top tucked into them. The white shirt hugs her form rather nicely if you ask me. You can see the yellow of her bathing suit underneath. A one piece. Some woman think the beach is the place to flaunt their stuff -so to speak- so they come decked out in little string bikinis that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. Take Shampoo for instance. She's working the crowds in two or three pieces of dental floss. Now, I'm not saying us men don't appreciate the eye candy. But, sometimes we want a little bit of aloofness. See, Akane doesn't need to show off to get a guys attention. She's just got this way about her and any man with a pulse will tell you the same. She turns back to me and smacks me with one of her heart stopping smiles. "Pleeeeeease." She begs again.   
  
"Let me think about it." I put in two more push ups. "No." Finishing up, I push myself up into a sitting position, placing my arm on my knee. "Why don't you go play volleyball or something?" I ask.   
  
"Volleyball?" She whines, crinkling her nose as if the suggestion is the most disgusting thing I could have ever said. I just shrug and roll my shoulders. Standing up I offer her hand knowing she'll refuse it. Yep.. I was right, she stands up on her own. Damn stubborn woman. I stretch my arms above my head and stare off into the distance. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Akane's gaze take me in from top to bottom. Oh yeah. She wants me. 'Course, the feeling's mutual. Again, I reiterate the pulse thing.   
  
"Hey... it looks like Ukyo is out there." I turn my head and catch her gaze. A blush sprinkles across her nose and I have to shove my hands in the pockets of my knee length swimming trunks to keep myself from grabbing her and crushing her mouth to mine. Her eyes shift to the water.  
  
"Yeah. She is." She crosses her arms and taps one of her flip flop covered feet on the porch, " See, she knows how to swim, so she gets to enjoy the cool, refreshing water. I, on the other hand..."   
  
"So go get Ukyo to teach you." I say, breaking her off in mid sentence. Why am I so unwilling to teach my fiance to swim, you ask? You might think it's because I don't feel like changing sexes, but you'd be wrong. No, I'm not cured... but I do have that waterproof soap. Quite a bit of it actually. So does everyone else with curses, except for my old man. He's lounging' underneath an umbrella, happy as can be with 70 lbs. of fur wrapped around him. The truth is, there is nothing more in the world I want than to jump in the water and hold that tomboy of mine close while I show her the dog paddle. HOWEVER, recently, as our weird and awkward relationship has moved into a comfortable acceptance, I've found myself reacting differently to her, if you catch my drift. Bottom line, all the cool, refreshing water in the world wont keep my body from showing off my obvious attraction to her. It's not like I can't control it. I'm not 13 anymore. I am, however, a very healthy, 20 year old male. And a man that doesn't get a ..... well.... hankerin' for a woman like Akane, then they must be dead or damn near dying.   
  
"Oh, fine, Ranma." She says, finally accepting my answer. Ha. I win. She hops off the porch and begins to walk away. When she gets about 10 paces from me she turns and peers at me over her shoulder, "I'll just go ask Ryoga or Mousse. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help." She flashes me a toothy grin and heads off in their direction.   
  
"Now hold on a damn minute!" I shout, jogging after her. This woman is infuriating. She looks at me with big innocent eyes and cocks her head to the side.   
  
"Why, Ranma... what ever is wrong?" She says with a lilting voice. I glare into her sunny face. She thinks she can call my bluff. Well, now. We've got ourselves a regular poker game going on. 'Course, I never was to good at keeping my cards next to my vest, as the saying goes, but things change. I flash her my biggest, heart melting, movie star smile and pull out a bottle of sunscreen from behind my back,   
  
"Nuthin'. I just thought you might need this. Don't want to get that cute little nose of yours all burnt to a crisp." Her eyes narrow and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. She then takes the bottle and storms off to her towel and umbrella. My eyes widen appreciatively as she strips out of her shorts and tank top. Hhhmm.. that's just fine with me. If she wants to wade out knee high into the water, I'll just sit back and take in the view. Akane then proceeds to bend over and rummage around in her beach bag, giving me and other male passerby's quite show. After watching a couple of surfers trip over their own feet while others stood there slack jawed and stiff... well.. ya know.. , I leap over to her side and straighten her up.   
  
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" I shift my eyes to the male crowd and proceed to scare them away with my eyes. Yah, that's right you gawking pieces of shit... keep walking, the lady's with me. Turning my face back to Akane, I see her mask of innocence back in place as she holds out a pair of goggles.   
  
"I was just getting these, Ranma." She says with mirth dancing across her face. She then swivels her head and combs the beach with her hand shading her eyes. "I wonder if Ryoga'll will help me put this sunscreen on before teaching me to swim...."   
  
"He does and I'll break his hands." Akane's eyes find mine and she smiles coyly. She knows she's got me. Her small smile turns from pleasant to damn near irresistible as I rake my hands up and down my face.   
  
"I don't want to go swimming with you." I groan. I realize too late that the words came out hard. I drop my hands and see Akane's fallen expression. Shit. I hold up my hands in a calming matter, "Now, Akane... that didn't come out right. I just meant.... "  
  
"I know what you meant." She said sharply, crossing her arms and turn her face away from me. She was angry. It was a repressed sort of angry, but angry nonetheless.   
  
"You know damn well I don't want to start a fight with you." I say calmly. She does know it, too. The thing is, we just don't fight anymore. Not like we used to back in high school... before Saffron. Damn... I can't even think that name without getting a block of ice settling in the pit of my stomach. Anyway, the point is, we still fight. Almost everyday about something or another. But it's a sort of intimate fight now. I guess that's just how we are. "Akane?" When she still doesn't look at me, I reach my hand out and cup the back of her neck, "If you want me to teach you how to swim, then by God, I'll teach you to swim." She slowly shifts her eyes and looks at me from beneath her lashes. Christ, Allah and Buddha, this woman was breathtaking. I softly put my other hand on her hip and pull her a step closer to me. "You know perfectly damn well there's nothing in this world you couldn't get me to do for you." She smiles, pulls my hand from the back of her neck and places a kiss in the center of my palm. Man oh man... Only her. Only Akane, this wonderful person in front of me could make me go fuckin' weak in the knees. I give her my own small smile as my hands slid up to cup her face. Now, I thought, after everything we've been through together. 4 years of playing this dodging game and I was finally going to claim my prize. Her eyes are dazzling as I lower my mouth to hers. Gentle but passionate. Only we could pull it off. When she parts her lips to deepen the kiss, I feel like I'm going to go crazy if I don't throw her down and take her right here on the beach. She let's a small groan escape from the back of her throat or maybe it was me. I don't really know... or care at this point. Time is slowing down for us, I loose track of sounds and colors. Everything just boils down to her. And me. I step back slightly, wanting desperately to go on.  
  
"Cheater." She whispers, slowly opening her eyes. I grin down at her and brush my thumb over her swollen lips.   
  
"Maybe." I say softly, pressing my mouth lightly to hers once more, "But you sure as hell aren't thinking about swimming anymore, are you?" She giggles. Dear God, I love it when she giggles. I pull her to me in a tight embrace. She smells like cocoa butter and salt water.   
  
"You know I'm crazy about you, right Ranma?" She asks, looking up at me. Well, folks... there you have it. My heart has just melted, and it isn't because of the damn heat. Of course I knew. And she knows I feel the same way, too. We've both known for quite some time now. Most everyone else knows, too. But she's stubborn, as I've said before, and I hate to admit it.. but I'm a little stubborn too. We both just wanted to wait and see how long it would take for the other to crack. Looking back now, it seems so silly, so fucking trivial that we waited for a hot, sticky day at the beach , four years after meeting each other, to finally act. Why in the world would a fight about swimming, when we have fights about everything else under the damn sky, have us making out under a scorching sun? Fuck it.. I don't really care. My answer for Akane's question??... well... I just swoop her up and carry her back to my hotel room. Family'll be on the beach for the rest of the day. That's fine with me. Who needs the damn beach? I sure don't. Everything I've ever wanted or will ever want is here, curled in my arms is nothing but a sexy, yellow, one piece bathing suit.  
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Well? Tell me what you think? Pleeeease!!  
~Smooches 


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